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I came across two articles that were of interest to me. One discussed whether talent is overrated, and the other discussed how learning can be improved through a change in mindset. I also read a book called Psychology of Flow.

Why are some people able to accomplish certain goals better than others? Is it because of talent? Or is it inherent ability?

According to Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck, it is one’s outlook and attitude towards learning a task or concept that makes a big difference. Attribution Theory, which examines people’s judgements on causes of events and behavior has a big impact. When someone fails at a task, is it attributed to a lack of ability or is attributed to something the person can control (e.g. environment, effort, etc.).

Learning to “master” a goal or concept is different than having “performance goals.” When learning has “performance goals” attached to it, the person is less likely to take risks, and each task is a challenge to their self-concept. Because the person becomes risk-adverse, experiences that will help them grow or flourish maybe ignored. However, when trying to “master” a concept or task, people do not worry about failure and take the necessary risks, experiment and tinker with new approaches. With a “mastery” mindset, the person believes that intelligence can grow and has a growth mindset, whereas, someone with “performance goals” may believe that intelligence is fixed and possess a fixed mindset.

The differences between a fixed and growth mindset are noticeable. In a recent study, a group of Stanford undergrads with the growth mindset found it easier to transition to college life.

I read the book “Think Big,” by Ben Carson, who grew up in a poor neighborhood in Detroit. His mother did not even have a High School education. He grew up in a single family setting. In the fifth grade, his classmates taunted him and called him stupid. Currently, he is a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University. In his book, he mentioned how the majority of people are “surface skimmers,” people that engage in “performance mindset,” and looking to acquire adequate information in order to pass a test. There is a minority, known as “in-depth learners,” who learn for the sake of acquiring knowledge and understanding, also known as people with a “mastery mindset.” Dr. Carson was doing in-depth learning while many of his classmates were not.

With the growth mindset, in order to grow, one’s current abilities must be stretched beyond one’s current abilities. This is called Deliberate Practice. With sustained practice, that is how one grows. It is certainly unpleasant because practicing an activity that is beyond one’s current abilities is quite mentally demanding, otherwise it becomes mindless. In other words, Deliberate Practice must be repeated many times. Feedback on results must be continuously available. A teacher, mentor, coach, parent is vital for providing crucial feedback. Deliberate Practice requires much focus and concentration, which makes it “deliberate.” This growth activity must be hard because it is mentally demanding, it is difficult to be sustained for a long period of time. Since this is a growth mindset, one needs to focus on their weaknesses. Because if one only focuses on what they are good at, they already know how to do it well and one does not grow.

Isn’t work Deliberate Practice? No, because it is typically mentally demanding and tiring, but it is not because of the intense focus and concentration, but rather engaging in activities that one already knows how to do and spending long hours doing this.

A fixed mindset sticks to what is safe and reliable, which is does not help one grow. Engaging in Deliberate Practice makes it tempting to frame one’s mind into the fixed mindset.

To grow, successful people have immediate goals and long term goals. The immediate goals are the activities that need to be completed today. These goals are used as a stepping stone to whatever the long term goal maybe. These goals must be exact not vague.

While performing a task, successful people have an excellent ability to self-regulate themselves. When self-regulating oneself, one becomes engaged in metacongnition, which is thinking about one’s thinking and actions. “What do I already know about this problem?” “If A is about X, what does B mean?” An example is working out. It can be painful especially if one pushes oneself to the max. It is easy to think about other thoughts because it is painful. But athletes would think about the specific muscle they are developing in their head. Working out becomes as much as a physical challenge as it is a mental one.

Successful people after completing a task or activity, don’t simply think that their performance is merely good or okay. They have specific goals and standards.

In one of Dweck’s experiments in 2002, Parents that praise their children for their intelligence rather than for effort, drained the children’s motivation. The most disturbing aspect was 40% of the children who had their intelligence praised overstated their scores to peers, and made them lie.

To conclude, one must examine one’s mindset. Does one have a fixed or growth mindset? With a growth mindset, sustained Deliberate Practice that is mentally challenging and has a specific, measurable goal and can be performed with metacognition is essential to how successful people operate. This experience may not be pleasant, but pushing oneself beyond one’s personal limits is so important. It is easy to avoid these challenges, and that is what is endemic with a fixed mindset.

Engaging in Deliberate Practice also ensures one is in the state of Flow. This is when one abilities and ones challenges simultaneously are it its optimal peak. When one’s mind is in the state of Flow, there is a merging of action and awareness which people are so involved with what they are doing, they stop being aware of time. Learning becomes an autotelic experience, which means that engaging in self-contained activity that has no expectation of future reward but by doing it is in itself enjoyable.

How do you pitch an idea? The author, Scott Berkun suggests some interesting suggestions and tips. Ideas are used to pitch when there is a there is a need for change. Is the audience ready for the message? If so, Mr. Berkun suggests the following:

1) What is the scope of the idea? In past pitches, how have people pitched this idea or ideas that were similar?

2) Who has the power to approve of the idea? Seek the influential people who can implement the idea, and if not, seek people that know these influentials. Working backwards to present to those people maybe the best method to reach the influentials.

3) Start with their perspectives. Tailor your message to align with their interests. Here is a great quote: “The most powerful person in the organization might share none of your philosophy, but the 3rd or 4th most powerful person might. The latter is going to be a better place to start.”

4) The structure of the pitch: First develop a pitch that is 5 seconds in length. This needs to draw maximum attention with minimal time. Keep refining your idea until it is short, concise and to the point. If this is successful, a 30 second pitch will be needed. This second pitch contains two or three ideas that support the first pitch. Finally a 5 minute pitch, similar to the 30 second pitch, contains ideas from the 5 second pitch. Often during presentations, the 5 second, 30 second and 5 minute pitches are presented in sequential order. Being able to have more than one person involved in a pitch is advantageous because of the potential synergies realized resulting from the different ideas, perspectives and styles.

5) Test the pitch. It is important to test this pitch with different people (friends, coworkers, etc.), who could bring their different ideas and perspectives to refine the pitch.

6) Delivering the pitch. Engage in active listening with the intended audience. Anticipate their concerns, be proactive and prepare accordingly.

7) What to do when the pitch fails. What were the actual and perceived mistakes? What can be done next time to prevent this? Ask for feedback with people that were present during the pitch. With these lessons learned, there is a possibility to re-pitch the idea to other areas of the organization. Perhaps breaking the idea into smaller parts is needed to re-pitch.

8) Do it yourself. If others do not believe in your idea(s), it is possible after much revision to implement the idea(s) yourself. That is how many entrepreneurs started their businesses.